Historical
information
The Big Bay Point Lighthouse stands
on a rocky point halfway between Marquette and the Keweenaw Portage
Entry. The establishment of a station at Big Bay Point was recommended
to the Lighthouse board in 1882 as follows: "The point occupies a
position midway between Granite Island and Huron Islands, the distance
in each case being 15 to 18 miles. These two lights are invisible from
each other and the intervening stretch is unlighted. A light and fog
signal would be a protection to steamers passing between these points.
Quite a number of vessels have in past years been wrecked on Big Bay
Point"

Congress authorized the establishment
of a Light Station on Big Bay Point on February 15, 1893 and funds of
$25,000 were appropriated on August 18, 1884. Work finally began in May
1896 with the construction of a landing crib and a barn to house the
construction crew and their supplies. The barn was outfitted with an
inside privy in one corner with an outside clean out.

The lighthouse was built as a two-story
brick duplex dwelling, 52 feet by 52 feet with 18 rooms. The light tower
rose from the center of the house 105 feet above Lake Superior. There
were also two small brick outhouses, a brick oil storage building, and a
20 foot by 15 foot brick fog signal building. The first fog signal
consisted of two steam operated ten-inch train whistles that protruded
from the roof of the building. In 1928, these whistles were replaced by
duplicate diaphone
signal systems.

On October 20, 1896 the fixed Third
Order Fresnel lens was placed into service. According the Keeper's log
entry of June 8, 1887, the lens was "fitted with a 3 wick burner
same as a 2nd order light and consuming the same quantity of oil."
With a focal plane of 105 feet, the steady white light was increased to
a brilliant white flash every 20 seconds by rotating bulls eye panels in
the lens system.

The duplex dwelling housed the Head
Keeper and his family on one side, and the Assistant Keeper and family
on the other. There was an office on the lower level of the tower;
accessible only from the head keeper's side of the building. Each
dwelling had six rooms consisting of kitchen, parlor and dining room on
the first floor, and three bedrooms on the second. Each side had a
cistern in the basement for collecting water from the roof eaves and a
pump in the kitchen to get water from the cistern to the sink for
washing dishes. When it was discovered in 1896 that the water in the
cistern was tainted with paint, water was hauled up from the lake in
5-gallon buckets.

As the country moved towards the
eight-hour workday, a third assistant was added to the station. A frame
dwelling and outhouse were built for his use near the fog signal
building at the bottom of the hill.

H. William Prior was appointed first
Head Keeper at Big Bay, and assumed his duties at Big Bay on August 15
1896 after transferring-in from Stannard's Rock Light. Prior served in
this position until his untimely demise on June 27, 1901. Click here to
read Prior's fascinating and tragic story, as told largely in his own words from
the Big Bay Keeper's Logbook.

In 1941, under the authority of the US
Coast Guard, the last keeper was reassigned and the light at Big Bay was
automated. The assistant keepers' side of the lighthouse was rented-out.
First to a Big Bay schoolteacher and her veteran husband as a year round
home, and later as a summer home to two different families from the
Marquette area.

In 1951 & 1952, the buildings and
land were leased to the US Army, and National Guard and Army regulars
were stationed at the lighthouse for two week periods of anti-aircraft
artillery training. Large guns were installed on the cliff to the east
of the lighthouse, and aircraft towed as targets over the lake.

The soldiers camped-out in the meadow
and woods to the West of the lighthouse. In 1952, a soldier stationed at
the lighthouse committed a murder at the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay.
The movie "Anatomy of a Murder,"
which was filmed in Big Bay, Marquette and Ishpeming, was based on this unfortunate
incident.

In 1961, the Lighthouse and 33 acres of
land were sold by sealed bid to Dr. John Pick, a plastic surgeon from
Chicago, for the sum of $40,000. Having been abandoned for close to six
years, the lighthouse had fallen into terrible disrepair. With most of
the roof missing, numerous broken windows, and plaster falling from the
walls, Dr. Pick set out to rehabilitate the proud structure into the
summer home of his dreams. It took most of Dr. Pick's seventeen years of
ownership to achieve his dream. He installed inside plumbing,
electricity and a modern heating system; re-plastered many of the walls,
repaired windows, opened the duplex into one large building and added a
fireplace to the living room. He then set out to furnish the lighthouse
with the antiques he had collected in his world travels, including the
ships' wheel from the Normandy. In his 80's and in poor health, Dr. Pick
sold his beloved dream house in to Dan Hitchens of Traverse City in
1979.

Mr. Hitchens added bathrooms to most of
the 7 bedrooms, a sauna in the tower and opened the Lighthouse as a
conference and retreat area for corporate executives. Five years later,
with business in a slump and a need for cash, Dan sold the lighthouse to
a three-man corporation. One of those men was Norman "Buck"
Gotschall. Buck reopened the lighthouse as a Bed-and-Breakfast in 1986.
Buck restored the Fog Signal House, retrieved the 3rd order lens from
the Park Place Hotel in Traverse City and had it reassembled for display
in the fog building.

As land around the lighthouse became
available, Buck and his partners bought as much as possible until in
1991 the lighthouse was surrounded by close to 100 acres. Buck cleared a
landing strip for his 1957 tri-pacer to the south of the lighthouse.
Hiking trails were cleared and some locally created sculptures installed
in the meadow near the Fog House. Buck married in 1989, and his new
bride Marilyn added that much-needed woman's touch to the Bed and
Breakfast. Nearing retirement, Buck and his partners decided to sell. In
March 1992, three avid preservationists from the Chicago area became the
fourth and present owners.

John Gale, Linda and Jeff Gamble had
been guests at the Bed and Breakfast and fell in love with the
lighthouse and the tiny hamlet of Big Bay on their first visit. On a
return visit in 1991, they learned that the lighthouse was for sale and
that one very interested party wanted to build Condominiums on the
property. Not wanting to see that happen, they decided to make an offer
on part of the acreage and the lighthouse. Much to their surprise the
offer was excepted! When final papers were signed, Linda moved to Big
Bay to run the Bed and Breakfast, while her husband Jeff, and their
partner, John, remained at their jobs in Chicago.

In July of 1994 Jeff joined Linda and
they continue to run the Bed-and-Breakfast. As of today John is still in
Chicago.
Keepers of
this LightClick here
to see a complete listing of all Big Bay Light keepers compiled by Phyllis L.
Tag of Great Lakes Lighthouse Research.
Seeing
this Light
We made the 30 mile drive from Marquette
to Big Bay on the afternoon of September 9, arriving at 4.15. This
lighthouse now serves as a private Bed & Breakfast, and we found out
that the grounds are only open from 10.00 a.m. until 4.00 p.m., so we
were forced to return to Marquette.

We returned the next day at 10.00 a.m. and walked the grounds in a
dismal drizzle. The light was terrible this day, as it painted
everything with a dull, even cast. We took the uninspiring photographs
seen above, and vowed to return again to photograph in a more inspiring
light!

On the way back to Marquette, we took a 12 mile detour down a sand road
to photograph on of the areas waterfalls. After climbing up and down the
falls, we were returning to the truck, when Sue stopped and started
walking slowly toward the left rear tire. She pointed at a huge nail
sticking out of the tire, and proclaimed proudly that she could hear it
hissing from fifty feet away!

We drove gingerly back to Marquette, checking the tire every couple of
miles, and found a tire center that had it plugged in thirty minutes,
and we were on our way again!

The woman has incredible ears!
Finding this
Light
From the City of Marquette, take Wright St. to the intersection with
Sugarloaf Ave. Take Sugarloaf Ave North. Eventually Sugarloaf Ave.
becomes County Road 550. Follow CR 550 approximately 25 miles into the
village of Big Bay. Stay on CR550 to the North side of the village, and
turn right on Dam Rd. Follow Dam Rd. until it ends at a "T"
intersection. Turn left at the "T" onto Lighthouse Rd. and
travel approximately a mile to the gate at the entrance of the
lighthouse property.

Guided tours of the lighthouse are available May through September at
1:00 pm & 2:00 pm. Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday with a $2.00
admission charged. The grounds are open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Visitors are
required to park at the gate and walk 1/10 of a mile up to the
lighthouse.
Contact Information
If you would like to stay at the lighthouse, room availability, prices
and reservations can be made at their website. Click
here to visit the Big Bay Bed & Breakfast web site.
Reference
Sources
Inventory of Historic Light Stations, National Parks Service,
1994.
Email and letter from Jeff Gamble, owner, Big Bay Lighthouse Bed &
Breakfast.
Personal visit to Big Bay Point on
09/10/1999
Photographs from author's personal collection.Michigan Lighthouses, Penrose, 1992.
Keeper listings for this light appear
courtesy of Great
Lakes Lighthouse Research